Nutrition Services Goes Virtual Amid Pandemic Response
Adjusting to the “new normal” is something everyone seems to be tasked with due to the ongoing pandemic. At the Food Bank, we have adjusted to find new and safe ways to distribute food to those in need. Still, some of our other services are unable to continue in the in-person format they are accustomed. This includes our Nutrition Services team at the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. Our staff had to find new ways to reach our clients with healthy recipes as well as the children we serve through our Pick a better snack™ program.
In September, our Nutrition Services team created a series of videos that showed recipes using items clients may find in a food distribution box. These recipes included chicken and vegetable stir fry, easy chicken taco soup and sausage and vegetable pasta. The goal of these videos was to help our clients live healthy lives using the items they receive from us during these challenging times. These videos are available on our YouTube channel and we hope to continue them in 2021.
Additionally, our Nutrition Services team was able to create a series of videos for children to participate in a socially distanced and safe Pick a better snack™ lesson. The primary component of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank’s Pick a better snack™ program is a monthly nutrition education lesson delivered by a health educator. Each lesson introduces students to a new fruit or vegetable. The students learn about the fruit or vegetable in an. interactive, age appropriate manner.
Once the videos were complete, our staff sent links to principals and teachers in our service area that were able to share with their students. November’s topic was raspberries, December’s topic was broccoli and January’s topic will be citrus. Additionally, our staff was able to deliver individual samples of the fruits and vegetables to some schools so students could feel like they were in a real lesson.
“Our team hopes to continue to find ways to safely teach nutrition tips and tricks to all ages as we continue into 2021,” stated Jordyn Barlow, Senior Manager of Nutrition Services.
If you would like to learn more about the lessons and recipes available virtually through our Nutrition Services department, please call 225-359-9940 or email Jordyn at jordyn@brfoodbank.org.
EGGCELENT EASTER TREAT RECIPE
